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Rita Poliakov Michelle Olivier, one of many residents who raised money for a new playground on Greenwood Drive, poses with her daughters on Saturday. From far left, Alexxandria Olivier, 6, and Brooke Olivier, 3.

Alexxandria Olivier wants to go to the park. It's something the six-year-old has never been able to do in her neighbourhood.

Until now.

On Saturday, the Korpelea playground on Greenwood Drive was officially opened.

Located just outside Alexxandria's house, it's the first park built in her area since the six-year- old was born.

"I want to play on it every day now," Alexxendria tells her mom, Michelle Olivier, who's just as excited about the playground.

"I love it. I love the way it fits into the landscape of the scenery we've got," she said.

Olivier, a mother of three girls, has lived on Greenwood Drive for around six years.

"There was nowhere for children to congregate. It started to be a high traffic area. We needed a safe place for the children to play."

This is why Olivier, along with Dennis Gainer and other community members, approached ward 11 Coun. Terry Kett about the issue last November. Kett committed about $50,000 from the city's Healthy Community Initiative Fund -- $25,000 for site preparation and $25,000 for the playground equipment. The community raised more than $30,000, which was used for the structure and costs like sand, cedar wood chips, plastic borders and installation, Kett said in an email.

"There are a lot of children who live in the neighborhood," Olivier said. "It was a need that the community wanted."

The facility, which took about 10 days to construct, was built on land donated to the City by Oliver Korpela.

According to Olivier, the facility, which was bought from Little Tikes, will be featured in the company's 2013 catalogue.

"The setting fits the nature of the surroundings," Olivier said, explaining that the play structure has a unique design. "It's very green looking. It has rock walls. They incorporated nature into the actual play structure."

Before the ribbon-cutting on Saturday, residents participated in a community build, which focused on leveling out the sand in the playground.

"We had volunteers from the neighbourhood come out. It was excellent," Olivier said. "We have a very good neighborhood here. We're lucky to live on this street."

Serge Dunphy, a local resident, expects to spend a lot of time at the park.

"We're going to use it pretty much every day," said Dunphy, the father of twin four-year-old girls. "A lot of kids will come here. It's a community inside a community."